Augmented reality apparatus, system and method, and computer-readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

An electronic apparatus, a wireless communication system, a wireless communication method, and a computer-readable storage medium are provided. The electronic apparatus includes a processing circuit configured to: determine a current audiovisual angle of a user; compare the current audiovisual angle of the user with an expected audiovisual angle, and generate indication information for directing the user to the expected audiovisual angle, and provide the indication information to the user. The indication information directs the user to the expected audiovisual angle by using a direct direction indication and an indirect direction indication. With the electronic apparatus, the wireless communication system, the wireless communication method, and the computer-readable storage medium, the user can obtain a better visual feeling, and thus the user experience can be improved.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/019,605, filed Jun. 27, 2018, which claims the benefit and priorityof Chinese Application No. 201711474462.7, filed on Dec. 29, 2017, theentire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments of present disclosure generally relate to the field ofwireless communications, and in particular to an electronic apparatus ina wireless communication system, a wireless communication systemincluding the electronic apparatus, a wireless communication methodperformed by the electronic apparatus, and a computer-readable storagemedium.

BACKGROUND

The augmented reality (AR) technology is a technology in which theposition and angle of a camera image are calculated in a real-timemanner and corresponding images, videos, and three-dimensional (3D)models are added to the camera image. The technology is intended to nesta virtual world in a real word on a screen and perform the interaction.The augmented reality technology is a new technology in which the realworld information is seamlessly integrated with the virtual worldinformation. The virtual information is applied in the real world andthen is sensed by a user to achieve a sensory experience that goesbeyond reality. The AR device is used by the user to combine the realworld with the virtual world, and thus the user can be in a mixed world.

In a scenario in which a user wears or carries an AR device, the usergenerally desires to obtain preferred route indication information sincethe user is in a mixture of the virtual world and the real world. Forexample, in a scenario in which a visitor visits a visiting area, thevisitor generally desires to obtain a preferred visiting route. Inaddition, in a scenario in which a customer is shopping in a shoppingmall or supermarket, the customer generally desires to obtain apreferred shopping route.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a solution to direct a user in anAR scenario, so that the user can obtain a better visual feeling, andthus the user experience can be improved.

SUMMARY

This part provides an overview of the present disclosure, rather than afull scope or all features of the present disclosure.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronicapparatus, a wireless communication system, a wireless communicationmethod, and a computer-readable storage medium, so that a user canobtain a better visual feeling, and thus the user experience can beimproved.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronicapparatus is provided. The electronic apparatus includes a processingcircuit. The processing circuit is configured to: determine a currentaudiovisual angle of a user; compare the current audiovisual angle ofthe user with an expected audiovisual angle, and generate indicationinformation for directing the user to the expected audiovisual angle;and provide the indication information to the user. The indicationinformation directs the user to the expected audiovisual angle by usinga direct direction indication and an indirect direction indication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wirelesscommunication system is provided. The wireless communication systemincludes one or more augmented reality AR devices, a control device anda server. Each AR device is configured to: determine a currentaudiovisual angle of a user wearing or carrying the AR device; comparethe current audiovisual angle of the user with an expected audiovisualangle and generate indication information for directing the user to theexpected audiovisual angle; and provide the indication information tothe user. The control device is configured to display information ofeach AR device. The server is configured to transmit informationassociated with a real object to be displayed to each AR device. Theindication information directs the user to the expected audiovisualangle by using a direct direction indication and an indirect directionindication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wirelesscommunication method is provided. The wireless communication methodincludes: determining a current audiovisual angle of a user; comparingthe current audiovisual angle of the user with an expected audiovisualangle and generating indication information for directing the user tothe expected audiovisual angle; and providing the indication informationto the user. The indication information directs the user to the expectedaudiovisual angle by using a direct direction indication and an indirectdirection indication.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, acomputer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readablestorage medium includes computer-executable instructions which, whenexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to perform the wirelesscommunication method according to the present disclosure.

With the electronic apparatus in a wireless communication system, thewireless communication system, the wireless communication method, andthe computer-readable storage medium according to the presentdisclosure, the electronic apparatus may generate indication informationby comparing a current audiovisual angle of a user with an expectedaudiovisual angle, to direct the user to the expected audiovisual angle.In this way, the user can be directed so that the user can get a bettervisual feeling, and thus the user experience can be improved.

Further applicability range is apparent from the description providedherein. The description and specific examples in the overview are merelyfor the purpose of illustration and are not intended to limit the scopeof the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are provided merely for the purpose ofillustrating the selected embodiments rather than all possibleembodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a top view showing a visiting area according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic diagram showing division of thevisiting area shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing indication information accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a real object layerof a first area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6(a) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a real objectlayer of a second area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6(b) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a virtual objectlayer of the second area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6(c) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of the virtualobject layer of the second area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7(a) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a real objectlayer of a third area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7(b) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a virtual objectlayer of the third area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8(a) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of displayed contentaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8(b) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of displayed contentaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing that audiovisual content isdetermined based on a distance between a visitor and a real object inthe first area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a mode conversionicon in the first area in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing content displayed on a display ofa control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a wirelesscommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a wireless communication method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example ofa smartphone; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example ofa server.

While specific embodiments of the present disclosure are shown asexamples in the drawings and are described herein in detail, variousmodifications and variations may be made to the present disclosure. Itshould be understood that the description for the specific embodimentsherein is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the disclosedspecific forms, and the present disclosure is intended to encompass allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. It should be noted that referencenumerals indicate parts corresponding to the reference numeralsthroughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Examples of the present disclosure are described more fully withreference to the drawings. The following description is merely exemplaryrather than being intended to limit the present disclosure andapplications or purposes of the present disclosure.

Exemplary embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure beexhaustive and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to thoseskilled in the art. Various specific details such as specific parts,devices and methods are set forth to provide thorough understanding forthe embodiments of the present disclosure. It is apparent to thoseskilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments may be embodied inmany different forms without the specific details, and the specificdetails are not interpreted as a limit for the scope of the presentdisclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, well-known processes,well-known structures and well-known technology are not described indetail.

The present disclosure is described below in the following order:

1. Configuration Example of Electronic Device;

2. Configuration Example of Wireless Communication System;

3. Configuration Example of Wireless Communication Method;

4. Application Example.

1. Configuration Example of Electronic Device

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of an electronic apparatus100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 1, the electronic apparatus 100 may include an angle determinationunit 110, a generation unit 120 and a communication unit 130.

In this embodiment, each unit of the electronic apparatus 100 may beincluded in a processing circuit. It should be noted that the electronicapparatus 100 may include one processing circuit or multiple processingcircuits. Further, the processing circuit may include various discretefunctional units to perform various different functions and/oroperations. It should be noted that the functional units may be physicalentities or logical entities, and units referred to as different namesmay be implemented as a same physical entity.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the angledetermination unit 110 may determine a current audiovisual angle of auser.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the generationunit 120 may compare the current audiovisual angle of the user with anexpected audiovisual angle, and generate indication information fordirecting the user to the expected audiovisual angle.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the communicationunit 130 may provide the indication information to the user.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the indicationinformation may direct the user to the expected audiovisual angle byusing a direct direction indication and an indirect directionindication.

Therefore, with the electronic apparatus according to the presentdisclosure, the indication information is generated by comparing thecurrent audiovisual angle of the user with the expected audiovisualangle to direct the user to the expected audiovisual angle. In this way,the user can be directed so that the user can obtain a better visualfeeling, and thus the user experience can be improved.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are described below by takinga scenario in which a visiting area is visited as an example. It shouldbe understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosuremay also be applied in other scenarios in which a user needs to bedirected.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing a visiting area according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. A visitor wants to visit the visiting areashown in FIG. 2.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the entirevisiting area may be divided into multiple areas. FIG. 3 is a simplifiedschematic diagram showing division of the visiting area shown in FIG. 2.As shown in FIG. 3, the visiting area shown in FIG. 2 is divided intothree areas including a first area, a second area and a third area. Inthis embodiment, it is assumed that, a manager of the visiting areawants the visitor to visit in the order of the first area—the secondarea—the third area, and a preferred visiting route is designed.According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may generate indication information by comparing a currentaudiovisual angle of a user and an expected audiovisual angle, to directthe user to the expected audiovisual angle. Therefore, in the diagramshown in FIG. 3, in a case that the user has visited the first area andis located at a position of a black solid circle, the user may beinstructed to proceed to the second area as indicated by an arrow tovisit.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may be an AR device that is used to be worn or carried bythe user. For example, the AR device may be a wearable AR device (e.g.,VR glasses, a VR helmet), or other user devices (e.g., a smartphone withdual cameras) capable of implementing the VR function.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the audiovisualangle refers to an angle in which the user can watch and listen. In thisembodiment, since the electronic apparatus 100 is worn or carried by theuser, the electronic apparatus 100 may determine the current audiovisualangle of the user. In certain space, in a case that the user is locatedat different positions, or in a case that the user watches in differentline-of-sight directions at the same position, content seen by the useris different. That is, in a case that the position and the line-of-sightdirection of the user are determined, the audiovisual angle of the usermay be determined. Therefore, the angle determination unit 110 maydetermine the current audiovisual angle of the user based on positioninformation and line-of-sight direction information of the user.Practically, the angle determination unit 110 may also determine thecurrent audiovisual angle of the user by using other methods, which isnot limited in the present disclosure.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the generationunit 120 may determine an expected audiovisual angle and generate theindication information by comparing the current audiovisual angle andthe expected audiovisual angle.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the generationunit 120 may determine the expected audiovisual angle based on a currentposition of the user. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic apparatus 100may include a positioning unit 140 configured to perform positioning onthe user and transmit a position of the user to the generation unit 120.That is, the expected audiovisual angle may be associated with theposition. In this case, in a case that two different users are locatedat the same position, expected audiovisual angles of the two users arethe same. In this embodiment, the generation unit 120 may determine theexpected audiovisual angle at each position based on a preset preferredtravel route, to expect a real travel route of the user to be as closeas possible to the preferred travel route. For example, in the exampleshown in FIG. 3, in a case that the user is located at the position ofthe black solid circle, the user has visited the first area with a highprobability and should be prepared to visit the second area. Therefore,it may be determined that the user should proceed to the second area,and the direction indicated by the arrow may be determined based on thepreferred travel route.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the generationunit 120 may also determine the expected audiovisual angle based on thecurrent position of the user and travel history information of the user.As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic apparatus 100 may include a recordingunit 150 configured to record travel history of the user and store thetravel history of the user. Further, the recording unit 150 may transmitthe travel history information of the user to the generation unit 120.That is, the expected audiovisual angle may be associated with theposition and the travel history information of the user. In this case,in a case that two different users are located at the same position, theexpected audiovisual angles of the two users may be different due todifferent travel history. In this embodiment, the generation unit 120may determine the expected audiovisual angle at each position based on apreset preferred travel route and the travel history information of theuser, to expect a real travel route of the user to be as close aspossible to the preferred travel route and ensure that the user canproceed to each area. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, in acase that the user is at the position of the black solid circle, if thegeneration unit 120 determines that the user has visited the first areabased on the travel history information of the user, it may bedetermined that the user should proceed to the second area, and thedirection indicated by the arrow may be determined based on thepreferred travel route. In addition, if the generation unit 120determines that the user does not visit the first area based on thetravel history information of the user, it may be determined that theuser should return to the first area, and a specific direction may bedetermined based on the preferred travel route.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may bedirected to the expected audiovisual angle by directing a direction.That is, the indication information generated by the generation unit 120may include direction information of the expected audiovisual angle, andthe communication unit 130 may provide the direction information of theexpected audiovisual angle to the user. That is, the user may reach theexpected audiovisual angle by traveling in the direction of the expectedaudiovisual angle.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the indicationinformation may direct the user to the expected audiovisual angle byusing a direct direction indication and an indirect directionindication. Specifically, the indication information may direct the userto the direction of the expected audiovisual angle by using the directdirection indication and the indirect direction indication.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the directdirection indication is used to direct the user to the direction of theexpected audiovisual angle with an explicit visual identification. Thatis, the explicit visual identification may indicate the direction of theexpected audiovisual angle in a direct and explicit manner. For example,the explicit visual identification may include an icon identification(e.g., one or more arrow icons, finger icons, and other icons capable ofindicating a direction).

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the indirectdirection indication is used to direct the user to the direction of theexpected audiovisual angle with an aural identification or an implicitvisual identification. That is, the implicit visual identification mayindicate the direction of the expected audiovisual angle in an indirectand implicit manner, and the aural identification may also indicate thedirection of the expected audiovisual angle in an indirect manner.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG.1, the electronic apparatus 100 may further include a display unit 160.Both the explicit visual identification and the implicit visualidentification may be displayed in a display area of the display unit160. More specifically, the display area may include a first displayarea and a second display area. The explicit visual identification isprovided in the first display area of the electronic apparatus 100, andthe implicit visual identification is provided in the second displayarea of the electronic apparatus 100. According to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the first display area may be a primary display areaof the electronic apparatus 100, and the second display area may be asecondary display area of the electronic apparatus 100. In other words,the first display area may be closer to a center of the entire displayarea than the second display area. In addition, an area of the firstdisplay area may be greater than an area of the second display area.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG.1, the electronic apparatus 100 may further include a speaker 180configured to play the aural identification.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the auralidentification may prompt the user for an aural source direction, andthe implicit visual identification may prompt the user for a visualsource direction. In this way, after the user sees the implicit visualidentification or hears the aural identification, the user cannotintuitively know the direction of the expected audiovisual angle, butonly can know the visual or aural source direction, thereby indirectlyknowing the direction of the expected audiovisual angle.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the indirectdirection indication may indicate information associated with an area inthe direction of the expected audiovisual angle, including one or moreof sound information associated with the area (e.g., a portion of soundinformation that can be heard in a case that the user is located in thearea), light information associated with the area (e.g., light in thedirection of the area in the display area is bright, and light at otherpositions in the display area is dark), and animation informationassociated with the area (for example, a portion of animationinformation that can be seen in the case that the user is located in thearea). That is, the aural identification may include sound informationassociated with the area, thus prompting the user that an aural sourceis located in which area. The implicit visual identification may includelight information associated with the area and animation informationassociated with the area, thus prompting the user that a visual sourceis located in which area.

As described above, various embodiments of the direct directionindication and the indirect direction indication are introduced. Itshould be understood by those skilled in the art that the directdirection indication may include one or more types of indicationinformation, i.e., a combination of the embodiments of the directdirection indication described above. The indirect direction indicationmay also include one or more types of indication information, i.e., acombination of the embodiments of the indirect direction indicationdescribed above. The indication information that is ultimately presentedto the user includes at least one direct direction indication and atleast one indirect direction indication. For example, the indirectdirection indication may include only an aural identification or only animplicit visual identification, and may also include both an auralidentification and an implicit visual identification. In addition, theimplicit visual identification may include only light informationassociated with the area in the direction of the expected audiovisualangle or only animation information associated with the area in thedirection of the expected audiovisual angle, and may also include bothlight information and animation information associated with the area inthe direction of the expected audiovisual angle.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing indication information accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows the entiredisplay area of the electronic apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 4, thedirect direction indication includes an icon identification shown bythree hollow arrows. The icon identification may direct the user to thedirection of the expected audiovisual angle with an explicit visualidentification. In a case that the user sees the icon identification,the user can intuitively know that the user should travel in thedirection indicated by the arrows. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, theindirect direction indication includes animation information associatedwith the second area. The animation information may direct the user tothe direction of the expected audiovisual angle with an implicit visualidentification. In a case that the user sees the animation information,the user can know that the user should travel to the area associatedwith the animation information, but cannot intuitively know the traveldirection. Further, the area (i.e., a circular area) in which theanimation information shown in FIG. 4 is located may be the seconddisplay area, and an area other than the second display area in theentire display area may be the first display area. As shown in FIG. 4,the first display area is located at the center of the entire displayarea and has a large area, while the second display area is located atthe edge of the entire display area and has a small area. In this way,the user can see the direct direction indication more conveniently andeasily. The indirect direction indication only serves as the indicationinformation for auxiliary reference. FIG. 4 only shows an embodiment inwhich the indirect direction indication is an implicit visualidentification. In a case that the indirect direction indication is anaural identification, only the direct direction indication is displayedin the display area, and the speaker may play the indirect directionindication.

As described above, the electronic apparatus 100 may generate indicationinformation for directing the user to an expected audiovisual angle, tobetter direct the user carrying or wearing the AR device. The indicationinformation is particularly applied to an overlapping area of the twoareas so that the electronic apparatus 100 can direct the user to areasonable route at any time and at any position.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may further include a content determination unit 170configured to determine audiovisual content to be presented to the user.In this embodiment, the audiovisual content may include displayedcontent and sound content. Further, the electronic apparatus 100 maypresent the displayed content to the user by the display unit 160, i.e.,display the displayed content in the display area of the display unit160, and the electronic apparatus 100 may present the sound content tothe user with the speaker 180, i.e., play the sound content by thespeaker 180.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the displayedcontent may include a real object layer and a virtual object layer. Thevirtual object layer includes a virtual object corresponding to a realobject and other virtual objects. It is well known that, the ARtechnology is intended to nest a virtual world in a real world on ascreen and perform the interaction. Therefore, the real object layer mayinclude a real object in the real world, and the virtual object layermay include a virtual object in the virtual world. The virtual objectmay include a virtual object corresponding to the real object and othervirtual objects than the virtual object corresponding to the realobject. The virtual object corresponding to the real object may bedisplay by being overlaid on the real object. For example, in a casethat a table which is a real object in the real world exists in thespace where the user is located, the same real object as the table isdisplayed in the real object layer. The virtual object layer may includea virtual table corresponding to the real table. In the display area,the virtual table is overlaid on the real table. Further, the displayedvirtual table may be different from the real table, for example, mayinclude some 3D display effect. In addition, the virtual object layerfurther includes virtual objects to which no real object corresponds.For example, information such as brand information and size informationof the table may be displayed. The virtual objects to which no realobject corresponds may also be displayed in the display area, and arereferred to as “other virtual objects” herein.

The audiovisual content presented to the user is described below bytaking the visiting area shown in FIG. 2 as an example.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a real object layerof the first area in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the first area includesa wooden terrestrial globe. The terrestrial globe shows continents andoceans on the earth on a certain scale, and shows air route informationof different airlines. Since the wooden terrestrial globe is located inthe real world, the wooden terrestrial globe may be displayed in thereal object layer. A virtual object corresponding to the terrestrialglobe overlaid on the terrestrial globe, such as a simulated real earth,may be displayed in the virtual object layer of the first area, andcontinents and oceans displayed on the simulated real earth are the sameas those on the real earth viewed by a satellite. Further, some othervirtual objects may also be display in the virtual object layer of thefirst area, such as identification information of airlines of each airroute, and detailed information of the air route.

FIG. 6(a) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a real objectlayer of the second area in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6(a), the secondarea includes several paper airplanes suspended in the air. The severalpaper airplanes extend from a boundary between the first area and thesecond area to a boundary between the second area and the third area.Since the paper airplanes are located in the real world, the paperairplanes may be displayed in the real object layer. FIG. 6(b) is aschematic diagram showing displaying of a virtual object layer of thesecond area in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6(b), virtual objectsrespectively corresponding to the paper airplanes overlaid on the paperairplanes, such as several airplane models, may be displayed in thevirtual object layer of the second area. The several airplane models maybe, for example, airplane models of different eras. Since the severalairplane models are overlaid on the paper airplanes, no paper airplaneis visible in the display area. Further, some other virtual objects,such as several white icons (white dots as shown in FIG. 6(b)), may alsobe displayed in the virtual object layer of the second area. FIG. 6(c)is a schematic diagram showing displaying of the virtual object layer ofthe second area in FIG. 2. In a case that the user gazes at a white dotrepresenting cabin service in the 00s shown in FIG. 6(b), displayedcontent as shown in FIG. 6(c) may be displayed. As shown in FIG. 6(c), aflight attendant corresponding to the cabin service in the 00s isdisplayed next to an airplane model.

FIG. 7(a) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a real objectlayer of the third area in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the third areaincludes a plan view of the entire airport. FIG. 7(b) is a schematicdiagram showing displaying of a virtual object layer of the third areain FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 7(b), a stereo model of the entire airportis displayed in the virtual object layer of the third area, including anairport terminal, a parking apron, an airstrip, and airplanes thatarrive, take off, and that are flying in the air. In FIG. 7(b), both theairport terminal and the airplanes are virtual objects corresponding toreal objects. Further, in FIG. 7(b), information such as air routes ofthe airplanes and identification of airlines may also be displayed. Theair routes of the airplanes and the identification of airlines arevirtual objects to which no real object corresponds.

As described above, the real object layer and the virtual object layerhave been described by taking the visiting area shown in FIG. 2 as anexample. Practically, the visiting area shown in FIG. 2 and the realobject layer and the virtual object layer of each area in the visitingarea are illustrative rather than limitative.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in a process thatthe content determination unit 170 determines displayed content, thecontent determination unit 170 may cause the displayed other virtualobjects not to overlap with the displayed virtual object correspondingto the real object. In this embodiment, as described above, othervirtual objects are virtual objects to which no real object corresponds.

FIG. 8(a) is a schematic diagram showing displaying of displayed contentaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8(b) is aschematic diagram showing displaying of displayed content according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8(a) andFIG. 8 (b), a larger circle represents the earth in a virtual objectlayer, an arc represents an air route of the illustrated airplane, and alarger rectangle represents a display area of the electronic apparatus100. As shown in FIG. 8(a) and FIG. 8(b), detailed information of theair route and identification information of the airline may also bedisplayed in the display area. In this embodiment, both the earth andthe airplane are virtual objects corresponding to real objects, and thedetailed information of the air route and the identification informationof the airline are virtual objects to which no real object corresponds.As shown in FIG. 8(a) and FIG. 8(b), the detailed information of the airroute and the identification information of the airline do not overlapwith the earth and the airplane.

As described above, in the process that the content determination unit170 determines the displayed content, the content determination unit 170may cause the displayed other virtual objects not to overlap with thedisplayed virtual object corresponding to the real object. In general,other virtual objects are detailed information or additional informationof a virtual object corresponding to a real object. In this way, thevirtual object corresponding to the real object can be displayed to theuser as completely as possible, and thus the visual feeling can beimproved.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may determine audiovisual content of the userbased on a distance between a current position of the user and anobserved real object. In this embodiment, the audiovisual content mayinclude displayed content and sound content. That is, the contentdetermination unit 170 may determine the displayed content and the soundcontent presented to the user based on the distance between the currentposition of the user and the observed real object.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, with the contentdetermination unit 170, the amount of information included in thedisplayed content decreases as the distance between the current positionof the user and the observed real object becomes small; and the amountof information included in the displayed content increases as thedistance between the current position of the user and the observed realobject becomes large.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing that audiovisual content isdetermined based on a distance between a visitor and a real object inthe first area in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that theuser is observing a terrestrial globe. In a case that a distance betweenthe user and the terrestrial globe is 9.5 meters (m), the user can see afull view of the terrestrial globe. In a case that the distance betweenthe user and the terrestrial globe is 5.5 meters (m), the user can seethe entire terrestrial globe in a latitude direction of the terrestrialglobe, and the user cannot see the entire terrestrial globe in alongitude direction of the terrestrial globe. In other words, the usercan only see the terrestrial globe in the vicinity of the equator in ahorizontal direction. In a case that the distance between the user andthe terrestrial globe is 3.5 meters (m), the user cannot see the entireterrestrial globe in the longitude direction and the longitude directionof the terrestrial globe. In other words, the user can only see a partof areas on the terrestrial globe.

Further, it is assumed that all air route information of multipleairlines and identification information of the airlines are displayed onthe terrestrial globe. In this case, if the user is far from theterrestrial globe, for example, a distance between the user and theterrestrial globe is 9.5 meters (m), the user can see all the air routeinformation and the identification information of the airlines aroundthe terrestrial globe. If the user is close to the terrestrial globe,for example, the distance between the user and the terrestrial globe is5.5 meters (m), the user can see fewer air route information andidentification information around the terrestrial globe. In addition, ifthe user is closer to the terrestrial globe, for example, the distancebetween the user and the terrestrial globe is 3.5 meters (m), the usercan see much less air route information and identification informationaround the terrestrial globe.

Therefore, as a distance between a current position of the user and anobserved real object becomes small, an area of the real object displayedin the displayed content becomes small, i.e., the amount of informationincluded in the displayed content decreases. As the distance between thecurrent position of the user and the observed real object becomes large,the area of the real object displayed in the displayed content becomeslarge, i.e., the amount of information included in the displayed contentincreases.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may also determine the sound content presented tothe user based on the distance between the current position of the userand the observed real object. In this embodiment, the contentdetermination unit 170 may associate the distance between the currentposition of the user and the observed real object with the soundcontent. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, in a case thatthe user is far from the terrestrial globe, the content determinationunit 170 may determine that the sound content is a sound in a simulatedouter space. In addition, in a case that the user is close to theterrestrial globe, the content determination unit 170 may determine thatthe sound content is an engine sound of the airplane.

The above description is merely illustrative. The content determinationunit 170 may also determine other illustrative sound content anddisplayed content based on the distance between the current position ofthe user and the observed real object.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may specify a real object that may be observed in eacharea. For example, the real object that may be observed in the firstarea is a terrestrial globe, and the real objects that may be observedin the second area are multiple paper airplanes, and the real objectthat may be observed in the third area is a plan view of the airportterminal. In other words, the real objects that may be observed are mainvisiting objects in the areas. According to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the user does not need to gaze at an observed realobject. Once the electronic apparatus 100 detects that the user facesthe observed real object, the electronic apparatus 100 may determineaudiovisual content based on the distance between the current positionof the user and the observed real object.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may also determine audiovisual content of theuser based on a virtual object gazed by the user. Similarly, theaudiovisual content may include displayed content and sound content.That is, the content determination unit 170 may determine the displayedcontent and the sound content presented to the user based on the virtualobject gazed by the user.

In an example, in the first area, when the user gazes at identificationinformation of an airline, the identification information of the airlinemay be highlighted. For example, the highlighting may include displayingthe identification information of the airline in a different color fromcolors of other identifications, and may also include enlarging anddisplaying the identification information of the airline. In anotherexample, in the second area, when the user gazes at a white icon, aflight attendant corresponding to the icon may be displayed. In anotherexample, in the second area, when the user gazes at a flight attendant,the flight attendant may start to explain related history.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may gazeat a virtual object displayed in the display area. In this embodiment,the gazing refers to a process that the user intentionally andcontinuously looks at a virtual object, that is, the virtual object isin the line-of-sight direction of the user for a certain time period.Therefore, the content determination unit 170 may determine theaudiovisual content of the user based on the virtual object gazed by theuser, and thus the visual feeling of the user is improved.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioningunit 140 may determine the current position of the user based on adistance between the user and a gazed virtual object. In thisembodiment, the gazed virtual object may include other virtual objectsto which no real object corresponds. For example, several icons of whichpositions are known are preset in the virtual object layer. The iconsmay or may not be visible. When the user intentionally orunintentionally gazes at the icons, the positioning unit 140 may measuredistances between the user and the icons, and determine the currentposition of the user based on the distances between the user and theicons. Practically, the above description merely shows an embodiment inwhich the positioning unit 140 performs positioning on the user. Itshould be understood by those skilled in the art that the positioningunit 140 may also perform the positioning on the user by using othermethods.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may determine whether to display a modeconversion icon based on a distance between a current position of theuser and an observed real object.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in a case thatthe distance between the current position of the user and the observedreal object is greater than a distance threshold, the contentdetermination unit 170 determines to display the mode conversion icon.In a case that the distance between the current position of the user andthe observed real object is less than or equal to the distancethreshold, the content determination unit 170 determines not to displaythe mode conversion icon. In this embodiment, a virtual objectcorresponding to the observed real object may be displayed in differentmodes. For example, in the first area, a simulated earth correspondingto the terrestrial globe may be displayed in three modes. In a firstdisplay mode, the real earth is simulated to display the naturallandscape of the earth. In a second display mode, the real earth issimulated to display one rotation of the earth. In a third display mode,all air route information of all airlines and identification informationof the airlines are displayed. The three display modes for the earth areillustratively described above, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may select a mode conversion icon that is gazedby the user and convert a display mode of the virtual objectcorresponding to the observed real object based on the selected modeconversion icon.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing displaying of a mode conversionicon in the first area in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 10, in the displayarea, three mode conversion icons (three hollow white circles in FIG.10) are displayed above the simulated real earth. It is assumed that, adefault display mode is a first display mode, and the three modeconversion icons sequentially represent the first display mode, a seconddisplay mode, and a third display mode from left to right. When the usergazes at the mode conversion icon in the middle, the contentdetermination unit 170 may determine to select the mode conversion icon,and convert a display mode of the simulated earth to the second displaymode.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may also determine audiovisual content of avirtual object corresponding to a real object based on live stateinformation of the real object to simulate the live state information ofthe real object. In this embodiment, the real object may include, forexample, an airplane in the real world, and the live state informationof the real object may include live state information such as takeoff,landing, and flying in the air of the airplane. In this embodiment, theelectronic apparatus 100 may acquire the live state information of thereal object from a server via the communication unit 130 and maycontinuously update the live state information of the real object.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the contentdetermination unit 170 may simulate the live state information of thereal object such that a displayed dynamic state of the virtual object isconsistent with a dynamic state of the real object, and played soundcontent corresponds to the dynamic state of the real object.

In an example, in the third area, real-time dynamic information of allflights in the airport may be displayed via the display unit 160. Thatis, when a real airplane is taking off, landing or flying in the air inthe airport terminal, the user may see that a virtual airplane is takingoff, landing or flying in the air with the display unit 160. A dynamicstate of the virtual airplane is consistent with a dynamic state of thereal airplane. Further, sound content corresponding to the dynamic stateof the real airplane may be played via the speaker 180. For example,when the real airplane has just landed, the user may hear an humanconversation sound from the speaker 180. In addition, when the realairplane is flying in the air, the user may hear an engine sound of theairplane and/or and a broadcast sound (for example, a flight with aserial number of XXX has taken off) related to the airplane from thespeaker 180.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the content determination unit 170 may simulate the livestate information of the real object and present the live stateinformation to the user, thereby increasing the reality of the userfeeling, and thus improving the user experience.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may be located in a wireless communication system. Thewireless communication system may further include a server and a controldevice. The communication unit 130 may perform information interactionwith the server according to a first protocol, and may performinformation interaction with the control device according to a secondprotocol different from the first protocol. Further, the second protocolmay have a stronger timeliness than the first protocol. Preferably, thefirst protocol may be a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and thesecond protocol may be a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP).

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may acquire information such as information associatedwith a real object to be displayed (e.g., live state information of thereal object), from the server via the communication unit 130. Further,the electronic apparatus 100 may transmit information of the electronicapparatus to the control device via the communication unit 130. Theinformation of the electronic apparatus includes one or more of poweramount information of the electronic apparatus 100, position informationof the electronic apparatus 100, and audiovisual content of theelectronic apparatus 100.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the wirelesscommunication system may include one or more electronic apparatuses 100.The control device may control the one or more electronic apparatuses100. The information interaction between the control device and theelectronic apparatuses 100 needs a strong timeliness, and the TCP/IPprotocol may be used. In addition, the information interaction betweenthe electronic apparatuses 100 and the server does not need a strongtimeliness, and the HTTP protocol may be used. Thus reasonableutilization of resources can be achieved.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controldevice may display the power amount information and/or the positioninformation of the one or more electronic apparatuses 100 on a displayof the control device. In this embodiment, the power amount informationof the electronic apparatus 100 may be represented in various ways, forexample, by a percentage or a power amount level. The positioninformation of the electronic apparatus 100 may also be represented invarious ways, for example, by a serial number for the area where theelectronic apparatus 100 is located.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controldevice may also select one electronic apparatus 100 and synchronouslypresent current audiovisual content including displayed content andsound content of the electronic apparatus 100.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing content displayed on a display ofa control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.As shown in FIG. 11, it is assumed that the control device may controlsix electronic apparatuses 100. The information of the six electronicapparatuses, including power amount information and/or positioninformation, may be separately displayed in the upper portion of thedisplay of the control device. Further, the displayed content of oneelectronic apparatus among the six electronic apparatuses may also besynchronously displayed in an image display area in the lower portion ofthe display of the control device, and the sound content of theelectronic apparatus may also be synchronously played via the speaker ofthe control device.

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, thecontrol device may acquire information of multiple electronicapparatuses so as to manage the electronic apparatuses. In addition, auser carrying or wearing the control device may synchronously watch andlisten to the same audiovisual content as that of one electronicapparatus.

As described above, the electronic apparatus 100 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure may determine the currentaudiovisual angle of the user, generate the indication information,perform the positioning on the user, record the travel history of theuser, determine the audiovisual content to be presented to the user,display the displayed content in the audiovisual content, play the soundcontent in the audiovisual content, communicate with other devices, andthe like. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, somefunctions of the above functions may also be implemented by a server.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 may determine the current audiovisual angle of the userand transmit the current audiovisual angle to the server. The serverdetermines the expected audiovisual angle and generates the indicationinformation by comparing the current audiovisual angle of the user andthe expected audiovisual angle. Further, the server may transmit theindication information to the electronic apparatus 100 so as to beprovided to the user. Further, the electronic apparatus 100 maydetermine the current position of the user and transmit the currentposition of the user to the server, and the server determines theexpected audiovisual angle based on the current position of the user. Inaddition, the electronic apparatus 100 may also record the travelhistory of the user and transmit the travel history of the user to theserver, and the server may also determine the expected audiovisual anglebased on the travel history information of the user. Further, the servermay also determine the audiovisual content of the user based on thedistance between the current position of the user and the observed realobject, may also determine whether to display the mode conversion iconbased on the distance between the current position of the user and theobserved real object, may also determine the audiovisual content of thevirtual object corresponding to the real object based on the live stateinformation of the real object, and the like. The above processes aresimilar to processes that the electronic apparatus 100 performs thefunctions, in addition to the main body performing the functions.Therefore, all the embodiments in which the electronic apparatus 100performs the functions are applicable, which are not be repeated herein.

As described above, various embodiments of the present disclosure havebeen described by taking the scenario in which the visiting area shownin FIG. 2 is visited as an example. It should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to suchexamples. The present disclosure may be applied in all scenarios inwhich a user using a VR device needs to be directed.

Therefore, with the electronic apparatus 100 according to the presentdisclosure, the indication information can be generated by comparing thecurrent audiovisual angle of the user with the expected audiovisualangle to direct the user to the expected audiovisual angle. Further, theelectronic apparatus 100 can also more reasonably determine theaudiovisual content presented to the user, so that the user can obtain abetter visual feeling, and thus the user experience can be improved.

2. Configuration Example of Wireless Communication System

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a wirelesscommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, the wireless communication systemincludes multiple AR devices (i.e., an AR device 1, an AR device 2, . .. , and an AR device n), a server 300, and a control device 200.Although FIG. 12 shows a case that the wireless communication systemincludes multiple AR devices, the wireless communication system may alsoinclude one AR device.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, each AR devicemay be a user device, i.e., may be carried or worn by a user (forexample, a visitor), and each AR device may be implemented by theelectronic apparatus 100 described above. Therefore, all the embodimentsdescribed above with respect to the electronic apparatus 100 areapplicable. That is, each AR device may be configured to: determine acurrent audiovisual angle of the user wearing or carrying the AR device,compare the current audiovisual angle of the user with an expectedaudiovisual angle and generate indication information for directing theuser to the expected audiovisual angle, and provide the indicationinformation to the user. The indication information directs the user tothe expected audiovisual angle by using a direct direction indicationand an indirect direction indication.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controldevice 200 may be a user device, i.e., may be carried or worn by a user(for example, a manager managing a visitor). The control device 200 maycommunicate with each AR device to display information of each ARdevice.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the server 300may communicate with each AR device to transmit information associatedwith a real object to be displayed to each AR device.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, each AR devicemay communicate with the server 300 according to a first protocol.Preferably, the first protocol may be a HTTP. Each AR device maycommunicate with the control device 200 according to a second protocol.Preferably, the second protocol may be a TCP/IP. In addition, the server300 may also communicate with the control device 200 according to thefirst protocol.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controldevice 200 may acquire one or more of the following information of eachAR device: power amount information of the AR device, positioninformation of the AR device, and audiovisual content of the AR device.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controldevice 200 may display one or more of the above information of each ARdevice. Specifically, in a case that the control device 200 acquires thepower amount information of the AR device, the power amount informationof the AR device may be displayed on the display of the control device200, for example, in an area denoted by “information of an x-thelectronic apparatus” shown in FIG. 11, where x represents a serialnumber of the corresponding AR device. In a case that the control device200 acquires the position information of the AR device, the positioninformation of the AR device may be displayed on the display of thecontrol device 200, for example, in an area denoted by “information ofthe x-th electronic apparatus” shown in FIG. 11, where x represents theserial number of the corresponding AR device. In this embodiment, theposition information of the AR device may be represented by the areawhere the AR device is located. For example, if a first AR device islocated in the second area, information such as “the first electronicapparatus is located in the second area” may be displayed in the areadenoted by “information of the first electronic apparatus”. In addition,the control device 200 may also acquire the audiovisual content of eachAR device and synchronously display the audiovisual content of the ARdevice. For example, displayed content in the audiovisual content may bedisplayed in the area denoted by “displaying image” shown in FIG. 11,and sound content in the audiovisual content may be played by thespeaker of the control device 200.

Therefore, the control device 200 may acquire the position and the poweramount of each AR device so as to manage the AR device. In addition, thecontrol device 200 may also synchronously play the audiovisual contentof the AR device, so that a user carrying or wearing the control device200 can watch and listen.

The wireless communication system according to the present disclosuremay be applied in various scenarios. For example, in a scenario in whicha visiting area is visited, each AR device may be carried or worn by avisitor, the control device 200 may be carried or worn by a manager ofthe visiting area, and the server may be located in or near the visitingarea. In a shopping scenario in a supermarket or shopping mall, each ARdevice may be carried or worn by a customer, the control device 200 maybe carried or worn by a manager of the supermarket or shopping mall, andthe server may be located in or near the supermarket or shopping mall.That is, the wireless communication system according to the presentdisclosure may be applied in all scenarios in which a user needs to bedirected. In the scenarios, the user can be better directed so that theuser can obtain a better visual feeling, and thus the user experiencecan be improved.

3. Configuration Example of Wireless Communication Method

A wireless communication method according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure is described below in detail. The wirelesscommunication method may be performed by an electronic apparatus carriedor worn by a user, i.e., the electronic apparatus 100 described above.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a wireless communication method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13, in step S1310, a current audiovisual angle of auser is determined.

Next, in step S1320, the current audiovisual angle of the user iscompared with an expected audiovisual angle, and indication informationfor directing the user to the expected audiovisual angle is generated.

Next, in step S1330, the indication information is provided to the user.

In this embodiment, the indication information directs the user to theexpected audiovisual angle by using a direct direction indication and anindirect direction indication.

Preferably, generating the indication information further includes:generating information on a direction of the expected audiovisual angle.

Preferably, the direct direction indication is used to direct the userto the direction of the expected audiovisual angle with an explicitvisual identification. The explicit visual identification is provided ina first display area of an electronic apparatus.

Preferably, the explicit visual identification includes an iconidentification.

Preferably, the indirect direction indication is used to direct the userto the direction of the expected audiovisual angle with an auralidentification or an implicit visual identification. The implicit visualidentification is provided in a second display area of the electronicapparatus.

Preferably, the aural identification prompts the user for an auralsource direction, and the implicit visual identification prompts theuser for a visual source direction.

Preferably, the indirect direction indication is used to indicateinformation associated with an area in the direction of the expectedaudiovisual angle. The information associated with the area in thedirection of the expected audiovisual angle includes one or more ofsound information associated with the area, light information associatedwith the area, and animation information associated with the area.

Preferably, generating the indication information further includes:determining the expected audiovisual angle based on a current positionof the user.

Preferably, generating the indication information further includes:determining the expected audiovisual angle based on travel historyinformation of the user.

Preferably, the method further includes: displaying displayed content ina display area of the electronic apparatus. The displayed contentincludes a real object layer and a virtual object layer. The virtualobject layer includes a virtual object corresponding to a real objectand other virtual objects not overlapping with the virtual objectcorresponding to the real object.

Preferably, the method further includes: determining audiovisual contentof the user based on a distance between a current position of the userand an observed real object.

Preferably, the method further includes: determining the currentposition of the user based on a distance between the user and a gazedvirtual object.

Preferably, the method further includes: determining whether to displaya mode conversion icon based on a distance between a current position ofthe user and an observed real object; and selecting the mode conversionicon that is gazed by the user, and converting a display mode of avirtual object corresponding to the observed real object based on theselected mode conversion icon.

Preferably, the method further includes: determining, based on livestate information of a real object, audiovisual content of a virtualobject corresponding to the real object to simulate the live stateinformation of the real object.

Preferably, simulating the live state information of the real objectincludes: simulating the live state information of the real object suchthat a displayed dynamic state of the virtual object is consistent witha dynamic state of the real object and displayed sound contentcorresponds to the dynamic state of the real object.

Preferably, the electronic apparatus is an augmented reality AR device.The AR device is used to be worn or carried by the user.

Preferably, the method further includes: performing informationinteraction with a server according to a first protocol to acquireinformation associated with a real object to be displayed from theserver; and performing information interaction with a control deviceaccording to a second protocol different from the first protocol totransmit information of the electronic apparatus to the control device.

Preferably, transmitting the information of the electronic apparatus tothe control device includes: transmitting one or more of power amountinformation of the electronic apparatus, position information of theelectronic apparatus and audiovisual content of the electronic apparatusto the control device.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the wirelesscommunication method described above may be performed by the electronicapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, all the embodiments described above with respect to theelectronic apparatus 100 are applicable.

4. Application Example

The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to variousproducts.

For example, the server 300 may be implemented as any type of servers,such as a tower server, a rack server, and a blade server. The server300 may be a control module (such as an integrated circuit moduleincluding a single wafer, and a card or blade inserted into a slot ofthe blade server) installed on the server.

The electronic apparatus 100 and the control device 200 may be userdevices implemented as mobile terminals (such as a smartphone, a tabletpersonal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, aportable/dongle mobile router, and a digital camera). The user devicemay also be implemented as a terminal (which is also referred to as amachine-type communication (MTC) terminal) that performsmachine-to-machine (M2M) communication. In addition, the user device maybe a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit moduleincluding a single wafer) mounted on each of the user devices.Particularly, the electronic apparatus 100 may be a VR device such as awearable VR device (e.g., VR glasses, a VR helmets), or other userdevices (e.g., a smartphone with dual cameras) capable of implementingthe VR function.

Application Example on User Device

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example ofa smartphone 1400 to which the technology of the present disclosure maybe applied. The smartphone 1400 includes a processor 1401, a memory1402, a storage 1403, an external connection interface 1404, a camera1406, a sensor 1407, a microphone 1408, an input device 1409, a displaydevice 1410, a speaker 1411, a wireless communication interface 1412,one or more antenna switches 1415, one or more antennas 1416, a bus1417, a battery 1418, and an auxiliary controller 1419.

The processor 1401 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip(SoC), and controls functions of an application layer and another layerof the smartphone 1400. The memory 1402 includes RAM and ROM, and storesa program that is executed by the processor 1401 and data. The storage1403 may include a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory and ahard disk. The external connection interface 1404 is an interface forconnecting an external device (such as a memory card and a universalserial bus (USB) device) to the smartphone 1400.

The camera 1406 includes an image sensor (such as a charge coupleddevice (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)), andgenerates a captured image. The sensor 1407 may include a group ofsensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagneticsensor and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 1408 converts soundsthat are inputted to the smartphone 1400 to audio signals. The inputdevice 1409 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detecttouch onto a screen of the display device 1410, a keypad, a keyboard, abutton or a switch, and receives an operation or information inputtedfrom a user. The display device 1410 includes a screen (such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD) and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED)display), and displays an output image of the smartphone 1400. Thespeaker 1411 converts audio signals outputted from the smartphone 1400to sounds.

The wireless communication interface 1412 supports any cellularcommunication scheme (such as LET and LTE-Advanced), and performswireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1412 maytypically include, for example, a BB processor 1413 and an RF circuit1414. The BB processor 1413 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding,modulating/demodulating, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and performsvarious types of signal processing for wireless communication. Inaddition, the RF circuit 1414 may include, for example, a mixer, afilter and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals viathe antenna 1416. The wireless communication interface 1412 may be achip module having the BB processor 1413 and the RF circuit 1414integrated thereon. As shown in FIG. 14, the wireless communicationinterface 1412 may include the multiple BB processors 1413 and themultiple RF circuits 1414. Although FIG. 14 shows the example in whichthe wireless communication interface 1412 includes the multiple BBprocessors 1413 and the multiple RF circuits 1414, the wirelesscommunication interface 1412 may also include a single BB processor 1413or a single RF circuit 1414.

Furthermore, in addition to a cellular communication scheme, thewireless communication interface 1412 may support another type ofwireless communication scheme such as a short-distance wirelesscommunication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wirelesslocal area network (LAN) scheme. In that case, the wirelesscommunication interface 1412 may include the BB processor 1413 and theRF circuit 1414 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 1415 switches connection destinations ofthe antennas 1416 among multiple circuits (such as circuits fordifferent wireless communication schemes) included in the wirelesscommunication interface 1412.

Each of the antennas 1416 includes a single or multiple antenna elements(such as multiple antenna elements included in an MIMO antenna), and isused for the wireless communication interface 1412 to transmit andreceive wireless signals. As shown in FIG. 14, the smartphone 1400 mayinclude the multiple antennas 1416. Although FIG. 14 shows the examplein which the smartphone 1400 includes the multiple antennas 1416, thesmartphone 1400 may also include a single antenna 1416.

Furthermore, the smartphone 1400 may include the antenna 1416 for eachwireless communication scheme. In that case, the antenna switches 1415may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 1400.

The bus 1417 connects the processor 1401, the memory 1402, the storage1403, the external connection interface 1404, the camera 1406, thesensor 1407, the microphone 1408, the input device 1409, the displaydevice 1410, the speaker 1411, the wireless communication interface1412, and the auxiliary controller 1419 to each other. The battery 1418supplies power to blocks of the smartphone 1400 shown in FIG. 14 viafeeder lines, which are partially shown as dashed lines in the FIG. 14.The auxiliary controller 1419 operates a minimum necessary function ofthe smartphone 1400, for example, in a sleep mode.

In the smartphone 1400 shown in FIG. 14, the angle determination unit110, the generation unit 120, the positioning unit 140, the recordingunit 150, the display unit 160, the content determination unit 170, thespeaker 180 described with reference to FIG. 1 may be implemented by theprocessor 1401 or the auxiliary controller 1419. At least part of thefunctions may also be implemented by the processor 1401 or the auxiliarycontroller 1419. For example, the processor 1401 or the auxiliarycontroller 1419 may perform functions of determining a currentaudiovisual angle, generating indication information, performingpositioning on a user, recording travel history of the user, determiningaudiovisual content, displaying displayed content, and playing soundcontent by executing instructions stored in the memory 1402 or thestorage 1403.

Application Example on Server

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of a server 300 accordingto the present disclosure. The server 300 includes a processor 1501, amemory 1502, a storage 1503, a network interface 1504, and a bus 1506.

The processor 1501 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU)or a digital signal processor (DSP), and controls functions of theserver 300. The memory 1502 includes a random access memory (RAM) and aread only memory (ROM), and stores a program that is executed by theprocessor 1501 and data. The storage 1503 may include a storage mediumsuch as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk.

The network interface 1504 is a wired communication interface forconnecting the server 300 to a wired communication network 1505. Thewired communication network 1505 may be a core network such as anevolved packet core network (EPC) or a packet data network (PDN) such asthe Internet.

The bus 1506 connects the processor 1501, the memory 1502, the storage1503, and the network interface 1504 to each other. The bus 1506 mayinclude two or more buses each having a different speed (such as a highspeed bus and a low speed bus).

Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed above with reference to the drawings, the present disclosureis not limited to the above examples. It should be understood that,those skilled in the art may make various variations and modificationsto the present disclosure within the scope of the appended claims, andthe variations and modifications naturally fall within the technicalscope of the present disclosure.

For example, the units shown by dashed boxes in the functional blockdiagrams shown in the drawings indicate that the functional units areoptional in the respective devices, and the optional functional unitsmay be combined in an appropriate manner to achieve required functions.

For example, multiple functions included in one unit in the aboveembodiments may be implemented by separate devices. Alternatively,multiple functions implemented by multiple units in the aboveembodiments may be implemented by separate devices, respectively. Inaddition, one of the above functions may be implemented by multipleunits. Practically, such a configuration is included in the technicalscope of the present disclosure.

In this specification, steps described in the flowcharts include notonly processes performed in time series in the described order but alsoprocesses performed in parallel or individually rather than necessarilyin time series. In addition, even in the steps processed in time series,the order may be appropriately changed.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been describedabove in detail in connection with the drawings, it should be understoodthat the embodiments described above are merely illustrative rather thanlimitative for the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can makevarious modifications and variations to the above embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is defined merely by theappended claims and their equivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic apparatus associated with auser, comprising a processing circuit configured to: acquire an expecteddirection of the user based on a current location and a current viewingangle of the user; provide a first indication and a second indicationfor directing the user to the expected direction, wherein the firstindication is a direct direction indication and the second indication isan indirect direction indication, wherein the indirect directionindication indicates information associated with an area in thedirection of the expected direction, and wherein the informationassociated with the area in the direction of the expected directioncomprises light brightness information associated with the area; displayan object to the user when the user goes toward the expected direction;and provide information associated with the object based on a distancebetween the user and the object, wherein the information associated withthe object includes at least one of visual content and sound content. 2.The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object isassociated with a real object.
 3. The electronic apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the sound content is sound associated with actualsounds that can be heard by the user according to the distance betweenthe user and the object.
 4. The electronic apparatus according to claim1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to provide soundnot associated with the object as the sound content when the distancebetween the user and the object satisfies a first condition; and providesound associated with the object as the sound content when the distancebetween the user and the object satisfies a second condition.
 5. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit is further configured to provide first visual content based on afirst distance between the user and the object; and provide secondvisual content based on a second distance longer than the first distancebetween the user and the object.
 6. The electronic apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured toprovide a display mode conversion icon as at least part of the visualcontent if the distance between the user and the object satisfies acondition.
 7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theinformation associated with the area in the direction of the expecteddirection further includes sound information associated with the areaand animation information associated with the area, wherein a portion ofthe sound information is a sound information from an aural sourcelocated in the area and that can be heard in a case that the user islocated in the area, wherein the light information associated with thearea is a light information from a visual source located in the area andthat can be seen in a case that the user is located in the area, andwherein a portion of the animation information from a visual sourcelocated in the area and that can be seen in a case that the user islocated in the area.
 8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine thecurrent location and the viewing angle of the user; transmit the currentlocation and the viewing angle to a server; and receive controlinformation from the server regarding the first and second indication,the object and information associated with the object thereof.
 9. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronicapparatus is an augmented reality (AR) apparatus.
 10. An electronicapparatus associated with a server, comprising processing circuitconfigured to: determine an expected direction of a user based on acurrent location and a current viewing angle of the user; generate afirst indication and a second indication for directing the user to theexpected direction; control an electronic apparatus associated with theuser to display an object to the user when the user goes towards theexpected direction; generate information associated with the objectbased on a distance between the user and the object; wherein the firstindication is a direct direction indication and the second indication isan indirect direction indication, wherein the indirect directionindication indicates information associated with an area in thedirection of the expected direction, and wherein the informationassociated with the area in the direction of the expected directioncomprises light brightness information associated with the area, whereinthe information associated with the object includes at least one ofvisual content and sound content.
 11. The electronic apparatus accordingto claim 10, wherein the object is associated with a real object. 12.The electronic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the soundcontent is sound associated with actual sounds that can be heard by theuser according to the distance between the user and the object.
 13. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processingcircuit is further configured to generate sound not associated with theobject as the sound content when the distance between the user and theobject satisfies a first condition; and generate sound associated withthe object as the sound content when the distance between the user andthe object satisfies a second condition.
 14. The electronic apparatusaccording to claim 10, wherein the processing circuit is furtherconfigured to generate first visual content based on a first distancebetween the user and the object; and generate second visual contentbased on a second distance longer than the first distance between theuser and the object.
 15. The electronic apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate displaymode conversion icon as at least part of the visual content if thedistance between the user and the object satisfies a condition.
 16. Anon-transient computer readable medium containing program instructionsfor causing a processor to perform the method of: acquiring an expecteddirection of a user based on a current location and a current viewingangle of the user; providing a first indication and a second indicationfor directing the user to the expected direction, wherein the firstindication is a direct direction indication and the second indication isan indirect direction indication, wherein the indirect directionindication indicates information associated with an area in thedirection of the expected direction, and wherein the informationassociated with the area in the direction of the expected directioncomprises light brightness information associated with the area;displaying an object to the user when the user goes toward the expecteddirection; and providing information associated with the object based ona distance between the user and the object, wherein the informationassociated with the object includes at least one of visual content andsound content.
 17. The non-transient computer readable medium accordingto claim 16, wherein the sound content is sound associated with actualsounds that can be heard by the user according to the distance betweenthe user and the object.
 18. The non-transient computer readable mediumaccording to claim 16, wherein the method further includes: providingsound not associated with the object as the sound content when thedistance between the user and the object satisfies a first condition;and providing sound associated with the object as the sound content whenthe distance between the user and the object satisfies a secondcondition.
 19. A method of providing an augmented reality to a user ofan electronic apparatus, the method comprising: acquiring an expecteddirection of the user based on a current location and a current viewingangle of the user; providing a first indication and a second indicationfor directing the user to the expected direction, wherein the firstindication is a direct direction indication and the second indication isan indirect direction indication, wherein the indirect directionindication indicates information associated with an area in thedirection of the expected direction, and wherein the informationassociated with the area in the direction of the expected directioncomprises light brightness information associated with the area;displaying an object to the user when the user goes toward the expecteddirection; and providing information associated with the object based ona distance between the user and the object, wherein the informationassociated with the object includes at least one of visual content andsound content.
 20. The electronic apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the information associated with the area in the direction of theexpected direction further includes sound information associated withthe area and animation information associated with the area, wherein aportion of the sound information is a sound information from an auralsource located in the area and that can be heard in a case that the useris located in the area, wherein the light information associated withthe area is a light information from a visual source located in the areaand that can be seen in a case that the user is located in the area, andwherein a portion of the animation information from a visual sourcelocated in the area and that can be seen in a case that the user islocated in the area.
 21. The non-transient computer readable mediumaccording to claim 16, wherein the information associated with the areain the direction of the expected direction further includes soundinformation associated with the area and animation informationassociated with the area, wherein a portion of the sound information isa sound information from an aural source located in the area and thatcan be heard in a case that the user is located in the area, wherein thelight information associated with the area is a light information from avisual source located in the area and that can be seen in a case thatthe user is located in the area, and wherein a portion of the animationinformation from a visual source located in the area and that can beseen in a case that the user is located in the area.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 19, wherein the information associated with the areain the direction of the expected direction further includes soundinformation associated with the area and animation informationassociated with the area, wherein a portion of the sound information isa sound information from an aural source located in the area and thatcan be heard in a case that the user is located in the area, wherein thelight information associated with the area is a light information from avisual source located in the area and that can be seen in a case thatthe user is located in the area, and wherein a portion of the animationinformation from a visual source located in the area and that can beseen in a case that the user is located in the area.